Trusses Go Up on Roof
The roof has been the main focus of attention all summer as Joe has been supervising teams welding trusses and then finishing the welding after they were done. This alone took around 4 months. We had several church teams as well as individuals come join in the work. When finally finished we ordered a crane from a reputable company to help us lift and install them. Tom Luney came down to help Joe get these up in a timely manner since the crane was costing $2,000/day. Joe then did further bracing, welding holders for the wooden perlins. After that is done, the perlins (pieces of wood lengthwise to which plywood will attach) will go up followed by the plywood decking followed by roofing felt and then steel roofing sheets.

As soon as the roof goes on work begins on the interior. We have some teams planned for the cabinetry and electrical work this Fall.

First Permanent HHM House Nears Completion
Although the kitchen is still awaiting cabinets and permanent sink installation, Jenn and Jean have moved in to the first permanent mission house. It is a relief for them to finally have some room to spread out. Jenn and Jean have painted it very attractively and did a huge amount of work finishing all the closet/armoires that previous teams built for them. Furniture that a team last January made and decorated was moved in and it is very homey.

Foundation for a New Missionary House Is Laid
Since much of the metal work on the clinic needed to be done by specialty teams, this left the regular construction staff little to do. Boss Tingue took over the work of digging a new foundation, forming the rebar, and pouring the forms for another mission house. This is now full of gravel and compacted for a nice firm foundation for a new house. Plumbing and electrical pipes are being dug to the new construction site. Praise God that the funds for this construction are already donated by another source.

Aleece Diaz
We had a pre PA student come to visit in August to stay into September. She was scheduled to depart Sept. 23 but since school doesn’t start till January for her she has opted to stay on till December. She has gotten lots of valuable experience. She has also been a huge help to all of us both in the clinic and out. She is very energetic and enjoys walking all over the place. We will enjoy her company till December!

Marie’s Little House
When Jenn and Jean moved into the new mission house it opened up their previous plywood house for Marie to claim as “home”. Aleece jumped in and helped Marie clean and paint the house. She moved in shortly and is enjoying her own little piece of Haiti.

Rebecca Chevalier
We have many interesting cases and Rebecca is one that is certainly that. She is an 11 year old with a large mass in her sinuses behind the right side of her face. We believe it may be a chronic sinus infection that was infected secondarily by a fungal organism and caused an allergic reaction. This has all caused her sinuses to become completely blocked and swollen to the point of completely blocking one nares and causing her right face including her eye to protrude. We have sent in a biopsy to verify this diagnosis. If correct, we are looking for a surgeon to open this all up and clean it out and then we will treat her with steroids as well as medications for the infections and allergies. We were relieved to see that the CT scan did not indicate a tumor.

Prayer Requests

1. Petiona Jacques will be having heart surgery in the Dominican Republic in October. An organization named CHADASHA is doing this for her. Please pray for everything to go well. They have already done one surgery on a patient of ours. We have several more on the list for future operations.

2. Donations for the clinic have been wonderful and most of the major expenses are already paid (ceramic, doors, windows, roofing). There are however electrical supplies, wood for cabinetry and a few medical needs (OR table, new sonogram machine) left to pay. Please continue to pray for donations to come in for the clinic to be finished and furnished.

3. Pray for Emily Hughes who has just finished nursing school and will be arriving Sept 28. She will work at the clinic for 1 year and hopefully train a Haitian nurse to fulfill her duties by the time she leaves next year. Pray that she can learn Creole quickly and adjust to life in Haiti as well.

4. Continue to pray for Sally and Robert Todd as they move towards coming to Haiti fulltime. They have quit their jobs in the US, sold their home, and moved all their remaining possessions to a child’s home nearby in Texas. They will be here in October and then hopefully full time in January.

5. Please pray for Rebecca Chevalier to get results from her biopsy and then a definitive treatment that will hopefully resolve her condition permanently.

6. Continue to pray for Joe Crowley as he supervises all building on the compound and works towards finishing the clinic building quickly. He has had to work in extremely hot conditions welding all summer long. Praise God for good health and stamina thus far.

7. Pray that our tents continue to hold up. We praise God that no hurricanes have come our way. We’ve only had a few wind gusts but they have taken a toll on the tents. The reception tent in particular is in dismal shape.

A Bit of Fun
Those of you who have visited are aware of our resident pair of Haitian burrowing owls that moved in shortly after we began construction. They have lived in our concrete block piles and paving stones most of the time. They had 3 baby owls earlier this year who have long since left home. We needed to clean up some broken blocks and used it as an excuse to build a permanent home for the owls. Their apartment house did not include engineered plans, rebar, or even cement. It was however lovingly built by several of the missionaries and a visitor. It is 4 stories high (They hatched the babies out on the 4th level of blocks this spring) and covered by dirt which will hopefully insulate them from the heat. Vines and ground cover will be planted on it as soon as all the dirt is piled on and a high perch mounted nearby where they can watch out for predators (or pet cats) when the babies appear. They are already using it some.